Howard grateful for the fans he still has left in Orlando

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To Dwight Howard, his return to Orlando last season, his first since leaving after eight seasons with the Magic, was more emotional. This one, however, might have had something that didn’t. Closure.

The Magic featured Howard in a video tribute as part of their nightly 25th anniversary celebration. A member of the opposing team has been featured whenever relevant to Magic history and on Wednesday, that meant showing highlights of Howard’s time in Orlando before leaving for one season in Los Angeles.

“I do appreciate it,” said Howard, who watched the video from the Rockets bench. “I thought we had some great times in Orlando. I’ll never forget them. It was good to see some of those things.

Howard was booed in introductions and sporadically throughout the game, but nowhere near as strenuously as last season or as in his games in Los Angeles this season. There were also cheers, along with some fans wearing replicas of his Magic uniform.

“I think people remember all the bad things that happen,” Howard said. “They forget all the good things that happen. There’s a lot of great moments that happened here in Orlando.

“Last year, it was fresh for a lot of the Magic fans. They were upset with how things went down. At the end of the day, I think time heals all wounds. Even though it’s only been a year, I’ve forgiven the people I needed to forgive and hopefully the fans will forgive me for how the situation ended. My love for this city will never change.

“I played here. People are upset I left so they’re going to boo. They’re going to let their frustrations out. That’s totally understandable. I appreciate all the fans that did cheer. The reason I left had nothing to do with the fans. I’ll always been grateful to the people that supported me from day one.”